Transeer-rack apparatus



J. A. BECHTEL.

' TRANSFER RACK APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.24. 1918.

1,324,785 Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR &1,

J. A. BECHTEL.

TRANSFER RACK APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 24. l9IB.

1,324,785. Patented Dec.16,1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

lNVENTOR raw/4.6m

. UNITED STATES PATENT osrron 1 JOHN A. BEGHTEL, OF TARENTUM, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 PITTSBURGH PLA'I E GLASS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

TRANSFER-BACK APPARATUS.

Specification ofjLetters Patent. Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

Application'filed December 24, 1915; Serial No. 268,180.

upside down upon the grinding table after the upper side has been groimd" and smoothed. The apparatus has its principal use. where a vacuum lifting frame is employed to lift the glass from the table and return it again, as will be readily understood from the description hereinafter set forth in connection with the drawings. The invention has for its primary objects, the provision of an improved transfer rack for use in connection with a vacuum lifting frame, wherein (1) the labor incident to the shifting of the glass is reduced to a minimiun, and (2) the amount of space re quired as compared with those heretofore employedis reduced. One embodiment of the invention is, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus in the first position of use, Fig. 2 is a partial plan and partial sectional view. of the vapparatus of Fig. 1;. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus in the second position of use, and Fig. 4: is a side' elevation of the apparatus in the third positionof use.

In its preferred form, as illustratedand described hereinafter, the apparatus oomprises a pairof opposing racks having inclined faces, one of such racks being fixed and the other being movable toward and from thefixed rack. Each rack has at its lower .portion, supporting means adapted to "project beneath the edges of the glass sheets placed upon the racks. These supporting means are in the form offingers which project past each other when the two racks are brought close together, and one of these sets of fingers is made movable vertically to facilitate the transfer of the weight of the sheets from the fingers ofone rack to those on the other rack.

In operation, after the upper surfaces of the sheets of glass upon the .table are ground and smoothed, these sheets are lifted. successively by a vacuum lifting frame, carried by a crane, and transferred to the fixed rack, the plates occupying a substantially upright position with the lower edges of the sheets engaging the sin porting meansor fingers at the lower edge of the rack. have their smooth sides out, that is away from the'face of the rack. The movable rack is then moved closely adjacent to the fixed rack so that its supporting fingers pro- "jeot past those on the fixed rack. The

fingers of the fixed rack are now lowered, thus transferringtheweight of the sheets to the fingers of the movable frame and the sheets are tilted around their lower edges until they rest against the face of the movable rack. The next operation is the movement 'ofthe movable frame back to it's position remote from the fixed frame. The sheets are now positioned upon the .movable frame with their rough or unground faces outward, so that when engaged by the vacuum frame and carried back to the grinding table, their ground and smoothed surfaces are down, the series of operations as heretofore described having resulted in the inversion of the sheets upon the grinding table.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 indicates the movable rack, and 2the fixed rack, such racks comprising suitable frameworks of the type illustrated, preferably of wood, and havinothe inclined opposing faces as illustrate Rack 1 is provided with the wheels 3, mounted upon the track 4, and has at .its lower portion the supporting means or fingers 5 adapted to project beneath the edges of the sheetsof glass carried by the rack.

The rack 2 is preferably fixed in position,although this is not necessarily the case, asit would perform its functions if mounted for movement,.and has at its lower endthe supporting means or fingers 6 corresponding 1 cylinder v9 connected to the lever 8 by means The sheets as thus supported of the link 10 and lever 11, the lever 11 being pivoted to the frame at 12 and being provided with the counterweight 13. The lever 11 is connected to a piston 14 of the cylinder by means of the link 15. Liquid is supplied to the cylinder 9 by means of a pipe 16 connected to a water main and provided with a three-way valve 17. lVhenthe valve is in closed position, no water can escape from the cylinder and the fingers (3 are held rigidly in the position illustrated in Fig. 1. When the valve 17 is moved to discharge to the ground, the fingers 6 at. such time gradually move down to correspond to the throttled escape of the liquid. When the valve is moved to its third position, connection is made with the main and the piston is caused to move up, thus causing the movement of the fingers 6 back to the position illustrated.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows. After the upper surfaces of a plurality of sheets 18 (Fig. 1) have been ground and smoothed upon the usual grinding table, they are successwely engaged upon their upper faces by a vacuum lifting device and transferred by means of a. crane to the position shown in Fig. 1. There will ordinarily be several plates upon the table and they are transferred, one at a time, and stacked up as illustrated, with their lower edges supported upon the fingers 6. After each plate is deposited and while the vacuum lifting frame is returning for another plate, the surface of the sheet upon the frame is cleaned in the usual way. At this time the rack 1 is far enough away from the plate 2 to permit the entrance of the vacuum lifting frame between the two racks, and the fingers 6 are in their uppermost position, the

three-way valve 17 being in its closed posi- I tion so that the liquid in the cylinder cannot escape.

The next operation is the movement of the rack 1 to the position illustrated in Fig. 8, at which time the fingers 5 extend past the fingers 6 and lie slightly below such fingers 6 and below the edges of the glass sheets 18. The three-way valve 17 is now moved to open position, permitting of the escape of the water and allowing the fingers 6 to move down until the edges of the glass sheets rest upon the fingers 5 of the frame 1. After the weight has been transferred from the fingers 6 to the fingers 5, a still further movement of the fingers 6 pccurs under the influence of the counter weight 13, in order to give the fingers 6 the necessary clearance with respect to the lower edges of the sheets. The sheets are now tipped, one at a time, as indicated in Fig. 3, until they all rest against the rack 1.

The rack 1 is now moved back to the position of Fig. 1-. This provides space for the entrance of the vacuum lifting frame hetween the two racks. The rough sides of the sheets are now outward, so that when the sheets are engaged by the vacuum lifting frame and carried back to the grinding table, their rough surfaces will be uppermost. The track a is preferably made slightly inclined, so as to lessen the labor of moving rack 1 with its heavy load of glass from the position of Fig. 3 to the position of Fig. 4%, the slant to the track, however, not being sufficient to cause the rack to move by gravity and without the application of force, so that the rack does not have to be blocked in the position of Fig. 3. The fingers 6 are shown in Fig. 1- in a position occupied after the transfer of the glass to the rack 1. In order to restore the fingers to the position of Fig. 1, the three-way valve 17 is moved to its third position, at which time communication is made with the main, so that water is admitted to the cylinder .to carry the parts back to the position of Fig. 1. The valve is then moved to closed position.

The foregoing constitutes the preferred method of operation, but it will be under stood that the operation might be reversed, that is the sheets of glass might be placed upon the rack 1 when the parts are in the position of Fig. 1, and subsequently trans ferred to the rack 2. In this case the sheets of glass would have to be lifted by the fingers 6 in order to secure the transfer to the rack 2. It is obvious that numerous other arrangements might be provided for securing the transfer of the weight of the sheets from one rack to the other when the racks are brought together, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and the invention is not limited to the arrangement shown. The broad invention contemplates any and all means for trans ferring the sheets from one rack to the other when they are brought close together, and the only requirement as to the movability of the racks is that such separation may occur as to permit the entrance of the lifting orcarrying device between them.

It will be noted that using the single movable frame in the manner illustrated, reduces the labor of blocking the frame in position to a minimum. The fixed stops 19 engage'the wheels 3 when the rack 1 is in its rearmost position, so that it is securely held when the glass is being removed by the vacuum frame, and when the rack is in forward position, as indicated in Fig. 3, there is only a slight tendency to move it to the rear during the tilting operation, so that ordinarily no blocking means are required.

What I claim is:

1. In combination in apparatus for han-' dling glass plates, a pair of opposing upright racks, one of such racks being mounted for movement toward and from the other rack, supporting means at the lower portion of each rack for extending beneath the edges of the glass sheets upon the racks, and means for shifting the supporting means on one of said racks vertically to facilitate the transfer of the weight of the sheets from one supporting means to the other.

2 In combination in apparatus for handling glass plates, a pair of opposing upright racks means on each rack adapted to extend beneath the plates of glass carried by the racks and support said sheets, and means whereby the weight of the sheets may be transferred from the supporting means 011 one rack to those on the other rack, one of the said racks being movable toward and from the other rack.

3. In combination in apparatus for handling glass plates, a pair of opposing upright racks, means on each rack adapted to extend beneath the plates of glass carried by the racks and support said sheets, and means whereby the weight of the sheets may be transferred from the supporting means on one rack to those on the other rack, one of said racks being fixed and-the other rack being movable from a position remote from the fixed rack to a position closely adjacent thereto, to permit the transfer of the sheets from one rack to the other.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 19th day of Decem ber, 1918.

JOHN A. BEOHTEL. 

